BookTrust Best Book Awards with Amazon Kindle

The Book Trust Best Book Awards with Amazon Kindle, which took place in 2014, aimed to unearth the very best children’s books the UK has to offer, and to honour authors and illustrators who continue Britain’s proud heritage of storytelling.

The Best Book Awards gave every child the chance to join in – whatever their age, ability or interest. The judges compiled the shortlist, but it was up to 12,000 children in school and library groups nationwide to read the books and vote for their favourites.

The winning books - which range from charming and humorous illustrated reads about the challenges and traumas of everyday life to gritty coming-of-age stories - were announced at a star studded ceremony in central London during Children’s Book Week.

You can find details of the winners and shortlisted books in all six categories below.

BookTrust worked with Amazon Kindle on the Best Book Awards, and also thanks Arts Council England for their support.

0-5 Years: Best Picture Book

This award is for the best picture book for children aged five and under. It recognises the most engaging books for the youngest readers, taking into account the quality of both writing and illustration.

9-11 Years: Best Fact Book

This award is for the best factual book for children at upper primary level. It recognises the most interesting, exciting and engaging non-fiction books for this age group, taking into account the quality of both text and illustrations.

Winner

Have you ever wondered how long you'll spend on the toilet in your lifetime, or how many skin cells you shed in one day? Operation Ouch! Your Brilliant Body explains everything you've ever wanted to know about your body, including how it works and how it fixes itself.

Shortlisted

0-14 Years: Best Tech Stuff

The Best Tech award recognises digitally enhanced storytelling and rewarded apps, ebooks and other products that use sounds, visuals, and games in innovative ways to make the reading experience richer and more interactive.

Shortlisted

All the animals are in the ark - but they're bored and decided to play hide and seek. Via the Signed Stories app, this picture book is told with a British Sign Language performance or subtitles, as well as narration, sound effects and specially-commissioned music.

Judges

Viv Bird

Viv Bird became Chief Executive of BookTrust in September 2007, and in 2009 took over chairmanship of EU Read, a consortium of European reading promotion organizations who meet regularly to share knowledge, experiences and concepts, and together launched the European initiative Reading Aloud Reading Together Year 2013. She was a magistrate for seven years and a school governor for 25 years.

Michael Morpurgo

Michael Morpurgo OBE is the award-winning author of over 120 books for children, including War Horse, which has been adapted into a phenomenally successful stage show and film. Among his many accolades, he has won the Smarties Prize, The Writers Guild Award and the Blue Peter Book Award. From 2003-2005 he was the Children's Laureate, and he became BookTrust's President in 2013.

Martin Chilton

Martin Chilton has worked in publishing and newspapers for 25 years. He has written several books on football and was for many years the sports editor of the Evening Standard, where he was also a columnist. He has worked at the Daily Telegraph since 2007 and has been the culture editor of telegraph.co.uk for the past four years. He writes about and reviews all aspects of children's literature.

Malorie Blackman

Malorie Blackman is acknowledged as one of today's most imaginative and convincing writers for young readers. In 2005, she was awarded the Eleanor Farjeon Award in recognition of her distinguished contribution to the world of children's books. In 2008, she was honoured with an OBE for her services to children's literature, and in 2013, she was appointed as the eighth Waterstones Children's Laureate.

Stuart Dredge

Stuart is a journalist covering technology, children's entertainment and the music industry. He is a contributing editor to The Guardian's Technology section; writes for music industry publication Music Ally; and is co-founder and editor of children's app reviews website Apps Playground.

Amanda Craig

Amanda Craig is the author of six novels, including the best-selling A Vicious Circle and Hearts and Minds, and an award-winning journalist. She was the children's books critic for the Times from 2003-2013, and writes reviews, columns, and interviews for newspapers and magazines including the Daily Telegraph, the Independent and the New Statesman.

Louise Rennison

Louise Rennison - who passed away in 2016 - won huge acclaim for her diary-style Georgia Nicolson series, which began with Angus, Thongs and Full-Frontal Snogging. Her first one-woman autobiographical show, Stevie Wonder Felt My Face, won great acclaim and awards at the Edinburgh Festival in the 80s; since then, Louise continued to perform her own shows and frequently appeared on radio.

Andy Jordan

Andy Jordan is best known for his role on E4's hit television series, Made In Chelsea. Andy set up his own ski and surf brand with his brother, is a keen singer and guitar player, and supports charities including Cure for Cancer and the National Autistic Society. He also raised money for The Princes Trust by completing a 200-mile stand-up paddle down the Thames.

Mel Giedroyc

Mel Giedroyc is a TV personality, radio presenter, actress and writer. Mel has made hundreds of TV and radio appearances, and is best known her work with Sue Perkins. As 'Mel and Sue', the duo were shortlisted for the Daily Express Best Newcomers Award at the Edinburgh Festival in 1993 and hosted Channel 4's Light Lunch. More recently, Mel and Sue presented The Great British Bake Off.

Helen Skelton

Helen made her name as the daredevil Blue Peter presenter after kayaking down the Amazon, doing a high-wire walk between Battersea Power Station's towers and travelling across Antarctica by ski, kite and bike. She has now established herself as a presenter across many genres, presenting on BT Sport and BBC One's Countryfile.

Adam Lancaster

Adam Lancaster is an award-winning Assistant Headteacher specialising in literacy. He also works an independent reading, library and literacy consultant, providing organisations in and out of education with literacy programmes. He is the founder of National Non-Fiction Day and llustr8or, a visual literacy project working in areas of low literacy across the country.

Nemone Metaxas

Nemone formerly hosted Radio 1's Weekend Breakfast Show before carving out a central role at BBC 6Music, where she presented the daily lunchtime show for four years. Nemome is also a keen athlete, and a former champion 400m runner. She has used her sporting credentials to the full fronting Grandstand's coverage from the X-Games in Barcelona, and Ski Sunday in Italy.

Andy Akinwolere

Andy Akinlowere spent five years presenting Blue Peter, during which he bungee-jumped from a helicopter, became a qualified sky diver, and set a new world record for the deepest open water swim. He has since gone on to front several factual documentaries for the BBC, as well as hosting ITV's Fort Boyard and appearing in shows such as Dancing on Ice.

Cerrie Burnell

Cerrie Burnell is a well-loved and popular CBeebies presenter and one of the few visibly disabled presenters on television. She was named in the Observer's top ten children's presenters and also featured in the Guardian's 2011 list of 100 most inspirational women where she received praise for tackling disability head on. Cerrie published her debut children's picture book, Snowflakes, in 2013.

Julia Eccleshare

Julia Eccleshare is the Children's Books Editor of the Guardian, editorial consultant for Lovereading4kids and a regular commentator on radio and at literary festivals. She has judged numerous prizes and is the founder and chair of the Branford Boase Award. Julia was presented with the Eleanor Farjeon Award in 2000 in recognition of her outstanding contribution to children's books.

Lauren Child

Children's Laureate Lauren Child is considered one of the most talented and creative author-illustrators working today. She won the prestigious Kate Greenaway Medal in 2000 for I Will Not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, the first of her Charlie and Lola picture books which were adapted into a BAFTA-winning BBC series. She also writes the Clarice Bean and Ruby Redfort novels and was awarded an MBE in 2010.

John McLay

John McLay is an International Children's Literary Scout and is extremely well connected in the children's publishing world. The founder of the Bath Festival of Children's Literature, which he directed with his wife, Gill, for six years, John is also an author and anthologist. It's his ambition in life to see a decent performance of every Shakespeare play ever written. There are 37. He is getting close.

Tom Pellereau

Tom Pellereau is the seventh winner of BBC's The Apprentice. He was educated at the University of Bath, where he received a 1st class degree and a masters in Mechanical Engineering and Innovation. He was diagnosed with dyslexia at a young age, and has always been passionate about inventing. Since winning The Apprentice, Tom has been busy creating a host of beauty products.